


Touch-Starved, Tongue-Tied

by EmeraldBitch



Series: Slowly and Surely: A Pearlapis Collection [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Established Closure, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Pearlapisbomb, Post-Lapis-Redemption, Theme: Anything, as least i tried to fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 18:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7812199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldBitch/pseuds/EmeraldBitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One is touch-starved. The other is tongue-tied. Although this time, the latter is quite willing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touch-Starved, Tongue-Tied

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation fic for Speckled set in Beta episode for the pearlapisbomb (theme: anything) in tumblr :)

_“Percy… are you okay?”_

_“Go away, Pierre! This is none of your business!”_

“Oh grow up, Percy! Can’t you see he’s worried about you?” Lapis barked at the television, raising her hands in exasperation. She tsked wearily and unconsciously relaxed back to her previous position that was bodily curled on a certain pink-haired pearl.

The said Pearl was used to the other’s periodically impassioned outbursts. She just had to wait for this Percy person to do something naïve or stupid which was usually accompanied by the character’s distinct sound track. Not for the first time, she found herself with almost a mouthful of unkempt blue hair. “Lapis,” pulling a wayward strand of blue locks from her tongue, “when was the last time you brushed your hair?” She demanded to the gem on her chest,

“Brush?” The blue gem turned a little to peek at her through her usually supple bangs, “Never. I never needed to,” she said nonchalantly, fully sprawling herself on the other’s warm chest. She rarely lie down on her back because of her gemstone, even more so after it was cracked, but the taller gem’s lean but strong arms and flat yet supple upper body assured the water gem that she was in literally safe hands.

Leisurely, the water gem brought the other’s arms on her abdomen and traced her fingers along the other’s firm yet soft forearms, allotting particular attention on the skin in the other’s leading to the pale gem’s long-fingered hands. Hands that she watched handle a spear expertly and tinker around Earth and Gem technology alike like a professional. She wondered how something so hard and dense to touch could be so smooth against her fingertips. She marveled at the contrast of the noticeable shape of the other’s muscles and the yielding skin that covered them, packaging the taller gem’s talented limbs for the water gem to explore. To acquaint. To study. To hold. To—Lapis felt her jaw tensed when the other gem ran her fingers across the blue gem’s scalp— _feel_.

“Hmm…” the pale gem wondered, critically combing the other’s hair, much to the blue gem’s silent pleasure, “You certainly do now.” She continued to comb the unruly locks, breaking the spiky style it developed on its own, “Maybe the Earth’s thicker atmosphere is affecting your physical form,” she hypothesized thoughtfully, “although our bodies can adapt to any planet…” Her hands slowed down along with her words, lulling the pliant lapis lazuli further into her body, “Maybe your physical projection is not used to physical contact?” she inquired the gem in front of her, pushing the other’s bangs out of the blue gem’s line of sight.

Lapis just uncharacteristically pouted at the other’s still hand. There are not enough points of contact between her and the pale gem, she decided, “Never mind that, please continue,” she requested, gesturing vaguely at the fingers in her hair.

With a smirk, the taller gem removed her hand from the other’s hair completely, much to the blue gem’s obvious dismay. “Ah uh ah,” the pale gem raised a lofty finger in front of the other’s upside-down face, free from the bangs that usually framed the gem’s features, “Wait,” Pearl curved her hands around her actual pearl, summoning a wide-toothed comb. “Now then,” she thrilled, wielding the combing ominously at the water gem, “Be a good gem and let me comb your hair.”

Lapis stared tensely at the brandished plastic. It, on its own, seemed innocent enough but the other gem had her way of making it look like threatening. The blue gem could already imagine the crawling shine of light off the reflective plastic like in the sword shows Steven often watches, “But your fingers work fine,” she said, successfully cutting off the whine in the end.

“Not really,” the pale gem huffed, “Hair like yours needs proper untangling,” she said, pushing the water gem away from her body so she could kneel behind her. The other did complain at this but her relentless hand managed to put the water gem into a slouch. With the other’s Pearl-bed hair in a comfortable height in front of her, she poised to begin her mission, “Here we go.”

“Fucking hell!”

“Lapis!” Pearl gasped, scandalized, “Language!”

“Ow… Fucking heck.”

“Lapis Lazuli.”

Never before Lapis saw a plastic comb brandished as frightening as the way the taller gem wielded it before her, “Ouch?” She offered.

“That’s better, I guess,” Pearl withdrew the comb from the blue mane, “… and sorry,” she added softly, lightly massaging the other’s right shoulder. Again, she watched with awe how the other’s golden freckles contrasted oh so nicely against the smaller gem’s deepening shoulder, and now, against her own pale skin. “I’ll be more careful this time,” she promised.

“I thought you like my “obscene word choices”?” The water gem sulked, leaning closer to the body behind her.

A hand stopped the blue back from reclining to far back, “I did, did I? I should tell you that the use of the colloquial term for fornication is beyond obscene, particularly out of contex—”

“So it’s okay if I use it in its proper context?” The shorter gem hurriedly countered, laughing eyes peeking at the other’s.

The pale gem blushed deep teal in the cheeks, “I-I… y-you… I guess you may. I mean,” she swallowed hastily, “If it is in the context of the actual act of fornication, as a participant or viewer, it is technically appropriate to use such a term. Although, why would one be a viewer of such act? Unless one is observing? Although, the act of observing is also questionable in my personal opinion… However… if one observes to gather information before participating in the said act then mayb—”

Lapis crumbled in a laughing-snorting fit, clutching her convulsing abdomen, “Stop! Stop! Oh my stars…” she managed to say, breathlessly, “You’re killing me here, Pearl.”

Pearl deadpanned at the giggling gem before her, “Oh har har Lapis,” she said, but the chuckle slipped in her voice at the sight of the panting, laughing gem. Finally, the blue gem recovered and slumped back to her previous position though a tad bit closer and relaxed than before. “All right… here we go.”

Gradually, the taller gem worked her way up the other gem’s locks, repeating patiently at particularly stubborn knots around the nape. With her free hand, she gathered the blue gem’s bangs and combed it into the body of Lapis’ hair, exposing the hairline of the other gem. Gently, she turned the water gem’s head to the needed positions, collecting the locks the other gem’s ears could never carry. With final strokes of the wide-toothed comb, her gathered the other’s hair in her free hand and let it fall on its own weight. “There… all the knots are gone,” the pale gem said, cupping her hands around her gemstone for the second time.

If the taller gem summoned another item from her gem, Lapis certainly didn’t notice it. The plastic teeth of the comb didn’t look as appealing as the other’s fingertips but they certainly felt good on her previously untouched scalp. The skin on her head tickled pleasantly with every even strokes of the comb, stimulating her nerve ends in a distinctive way different from the taller gem’s touches. It didn’t match the latter of course but the area of stimulus per stroke made up for its artificial feel. Lapis enjoyed the attention to her hair and the lingering heat of the other gem behind her until a new sensation filled her senses. Instead of a single row of teeth the taller gem was now using a wide brush that followed the curvature of her head just right. The water gem let the other moved her head to her liking, brushing the whole surface area of her scalp. She felt the other sectioned her locks, repeatedly brushing them with precise strokes. Finally, the other brushed her full bangs to a side of her face.

Pearl moved to fully kneel in front of the water gem, running the brush on one or two wayward strands into perfection. Content with her masterpiece, she tenderly gathered the thick locks at the left side of Lapis’ features and kissed them lovingly. “Now it’s perfect,” she declared, cradling the other’s hair and head in her right hand. The next thing she knew was a hand at the back of her own head pulling her closer to the smaller gem, the other’s lips hovering just before her own lips.

“Is this okay?” The water gem muttered, feeling her breathe bouncing back at her, “Pearl.”

“Y-yes…” The taller gem’s wide eyes met the other’s lidded ones, “Yes, Lap—”

Before Pearl could even finish her sentence, Lapis had sprang up from the floor and leaned over the remaining space between them, meeting their lips together. The kisses were impassioned but short seeing the shorter gem was indecisive whether to kiss or talk to the other, “You. Are. So. Unfair,” she said softly between the kisses.

Pearl used her hand on the other’s face to pause the onslaught of kisses, “What?” she asked breathlessly, recovering from the kisses, “What did I do?”

The blue gem only leaned closer at this, kneeling taller before Pearl, “So unfair…” she murmured, snaking her arms around the other’s neck, “Touching me like that… Petting me,” she shimmied even closer, “Brushing my hair and then kissing it,” she bore her heavily lidded eyes to the now dazed gem, “and I didn’t even get to touch you back…” She brought her hand to the other’s face, “Stop me if you don’t like it,” she whispered with a simper.

“Stop wha—”

“Fuck.”

Pearl gasped, “Languag—”

Lapis took this as the opportunity for a deeper yet still escapable kiss, teasing the tip of her tongue to the other’s inner lower lip. The pale gem responded by pulling the blue gem by the back of the head and boldly opening her mouth for more. Lapis took these as signs to continue and led the kiss to a deeper one, extracting soft moans from the other’s otherwise occupied mouth. The water gem made noises of her own when Pearl started to scrape her fingertips through her hair for leverage, guiding their kiss to her liking, to the shorter gem’s utter pleasure.

The two separated, moments later, yet clung to each other’s overly petted hair, “That was still inappropriate,” Pearl reprimanded.

Lapis just grinned at this, eyes full of false innocence, “Fuck?”

“Yes,” Pearl tried kissed the other’s smug smile away, “that,” and failed. “I should stop or else I’ll positively reinforce your foul languag—” She was, yet again, kissed into submission by the fairly haughty gem.

“Nah…” The blue gem whispered while Pearl recovered from the latest lip-lock, “I’m just gonna kiss you ‘til you shut up.”

“Maybe I won’t shut up then,” the pale gem challenged.

“You do that,” Lapis countered softly, leaning for another kiss, “and brush my hair again,” she mumbled, grinning against the other’s potential retort.

True to her words, Lapis kissed Pearl until she shut up.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Epilogue.  
> Lapis: *reads amethyst's hairstyling manga 4 gf*
> 
> Kidding lol Legit wrote this for that  
> "Fucking Hell!"  
> "Language!"  
> "Fucking Heck!"  
> dialogue lmao


End file.
